lotd220515

As I was writing this post last night, we received the heartbreaking news that Amy (Scarlet Chandrayaan in SL, owner of Alouette) lost her battle with cancer. It was for Amy that the Leaf on the Wind fundraiser was held (which I covered a little here), though she never was well enough to visit London. Amy and I were not close friends, but she touched my life and the lives of hundreds of others in SL, and on Plurk, with her kindness and strength, with her good humour and talent, with her grace and just being really, genuinely, truly good. I cannot pay enough tribute to her. She was an incredibly beloved young woman who was taken too soon and will be missed and remembered by everyone who knew her.

Tributes far more beautiful than mine can be found here: http://shewasourleafonthewind.tumblr.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple weeks back there was crazy mad excitement on Plurk when Redd Columbia announced she would be bringing back her store, RC Cluster, and with all the old faves remade in mesh, to boot! After an initial exciting Fifty Linden Friday release of some fun and delicious glue and an awesome karaoke machine, the next wave of products is out and I'm starting with the crutches and cast set! 

These beautifully detailed crutches have a built-in AO for all your hopping needs, which includes some rather daring moves like the swinging I'm displaying in the top picture to take the strain off your good foot, as well as some more conventional keeping-the-cast-raised sort of standing. The cast you can wear comes in a Large or Small size and is signed or unsigned - here I'm wearing the unsigned because I'm a bit of a loner. A pro-tip - Even though my cutie shoes by Ingenue are rigged mesh, and so they cover both feet, I hid the one on my cast foot by editing with Select Face checked, and set the textures only on the left foot to 100% transparency. Just remember to set it back to 0 when you're done! The crutch and cast set is fantastic for RP purposes or if you just feel like you don't hop enough. 

My skirt is by Sn@tch and I love the little worn scuffy patch on it, makes me feel like perhaps I was wearing it when my unspecified leg accident befell me. My sweater is part of Bubble's new Pastel Goth release at Suicide Dollz, my grey one is covered in scaredy cats, but there are all sorts of light colours with designs like crosses, spiderwebs, bats and um...bows with eyeballs. 

I'm wearing a parted lips alpha by Kibitz, since I have finally figured out how to wear these things without looking completely derp. At least from the front. The is the new Vampy version from the summer round of Cosmetic Fair, the shading tattoo layer really sets them apart from a lot which are just an alpha, but between that and my hairbase, freckles, eyebrows and beautiful eye makeup by La Boheme, I NEED MORE TATTOO LAYERS. 

Behind me, on the wall, Atooly's Neon Heart Angel is available at The Fantasy Collective and is available in 3 colours and is going straight into my house after this! 

Credits:

Hair: Little Bones - Chachki

Top:  Bubble - Pastel Goth Collared Sweater (@ Suicide Dollz)

Skirt: Sn@tch - Winnie Jean Mini - Red

Shoe(s): Ingenue - Lacy Flats - Coffee (@ Collabor88)

Necklace:  Sweet Thing - Violet Melty Moon Necklace - Starshine (gacha)

Crutches and Cast: RC Cluster- Mesh Crutches 

Wall Art: Atooly - Neon Heart Angel - Red (@ The Fantasy Collective)

Makeup:

Eyes: La Boheme - Glamour Eyes - Babarella S1 - 5

Lips and teeth: Kibitz Teeth System - Vampy (@ Cosmetic Fair)

Nails: Nylon Outfitters - Art Nails - Fresh and Light (@ Collabor88)

Poses: 

Image 1: in the crutches

Image 2: oOo Studio - Moody_five

The Basics:

Skin: Pink Fuel - Harley - Porcelain

Eyes: Buzzeri - Lillian Eyes - Jade

Mesh Body: Maitreya - Lara 3.3

Ears: Ears: Mandala - Steking Ears - Season 5

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands - Flat (R) and Casual (L)

Feet: Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet - flat

Hairbase: LeLutka Hairbase - Jessica

Freckles: Pekka - Dark Freckles + Star Upper Cheek

Lashes: Alaskametro - PrimLashes - Diva

Brows: Buzzeri - Nikohl Eyebrow - Light Warm Brown

lotd200515

Yesterday I made this: http://www.fivehearthome.com/2015/01/15/snickerdoodle-mug-cake/ and it was wonderful, I suggest you do likewise. Because I was so full of cinnamon sugar and butter, that is why I didn't get this post done yesterday like I had intended to. So like, sry.

The top I'm wearing today was something I couldn't resist from the last round of Genre, which was Rockabilly. It isn't anymore, sorry, this round is Anime. But last round was Rockabilly and I got this awesome tie-top by Goth1c0 there. You can only really see it properly in my headshot this post because DAAAAAAAMN the ass on these jeans, by Addams, from the current round of Kustom9. 

I faatpacked them because I love the shape so much, but also worthy of much note is that the three sections there are all mix and match to great effect. Not shown here, there is also an attached belt with a skull buckle that can be changed all sorts of ways, or hidden, as I have done here.

My hair is by Doe (formerly Ploom) at the Fantasy Gacha Carnival, it's one of two variations of this particular style, and I love that it lets me do my streaky-thang where I'm too chicken to go all blonde. The roses and headband are texture change too, and the other version has a veil! Very elegant.

Originally I was wearing different shoes with this, but then I saw these by 20.five and was all like !!!!!!! because look at them all laced up like that, they are so very sexy. The lacing can be changed to one of five colours too, which is a nice bonus. 

My tattoo is by Insanya, who has been working tirelessly to update their older stock to the current appliers. Seriously, with all the various parts out there these days, that is no small task, and I really appreciate the work put in, because this tattoo, I do love, and have actually featured on this blog before in its old System state, back in the day, and so on. (the "day" was actually less than a year ago, but that's 12 years in SL time)

And I'm not wearing lashes, because I rather like the effect this liner gives without them. It's dramatic and tired at the same time. Just like me.

Credits:

Hair: Doe -Teagan - Streaks (gacha @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival)

Shirt: Goth1c0 -  Rockabilly Tied Top - Green Birdies

Pants: Addams - Skeleton Skinny Jean w/ Belt (@ Kustom9)

Shoes: 20.FIVE Mesh - Vorst Pumps 

Stars: Ariskea - Astronome - The Stars (RARE gacha @ 6th Republic)

Makeup:

Eyes: NOX. - Slash Liner - Black (@ The Dressing Room Fusion)

Lips: Enfant - Barbie - Lip 7 (@ The Chapter Four)

Nails: ZOZ - Summer Swirl (@ The Dressing Room Fusion)

Tattoo: Insanya - Love Hurts (Slink Physique applier)

Poses: 

Image 1: Bang - Stand469

Image 2: Kirin - Mochi 2

The Basics:

Skin: Pink Fuel - Harley - Porcelain

Eyes: Buzzeri - Lillian Eyes - Jade

Mesh Body: Maitreya - Lara 3.3

Ears: Ears: Mandala - Steking Ears - Season 5

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands - Flat (R) and Casual (L)

Feet: Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet - flat

Hairbase: LeLutka Hairbase - Jessica

Freckles: Pekka - Dark Freckles + Star Upper Cheek

Brows: Buzzeri - Nikohl Eyebrow - Light Warm Brown

lotd150515

I've spent like, 5eva yesterday looking for a particular gacha item and completely failing to find it and man it was a drag. In the end I got something similar and technically better but which made me feel like a big sell-out because it wasn't the thing I was looking foooorrr. I was running around ALL THE YARDSALES dressed like this, which made me feel mildly scandalous, since the Charlotte top and shorts by Flowey at this months round of Collabor88 feels very much like loose satin underwear. Or pyjamas. And it very well might be! The point is, pairing it with these boots made it feel like something a lot more disreputable than it is, and I like it! I'm wearing a soft grey version here but the one I've been wearing most is the Hologram colour which is a watercoloury mix and so very pretty.

The boots themselves are by HOC Industries, an old favourite of mine which has been on a bit of a break of late but are back now yay! They're fantastic value (as HOC Industries always has been), coming with a HUD of 12 colours which can be applied to the main portion of the boot, the heel, the edging and the laces, making thousands of possible combinations!

The other day I took a snap of myself and I was under a projector light and it made the join of my neck here look all shadowed and weird. It reminded me of those rad 90s tattoo chokers that are coming back into style and I got all up on the Marketplace and found this cool one by XYZ for a cool 50L$.

Yesterday being a thoroughly gacha-based day, I dropped a ton at the new round of Fantasy Gacha Carnival. Two bits of my haul I'm wearing here are the tattoo by Identity, and my sexy scary claw by Kibbitz, which I'm wearing on the Slink Gesture hand.

My hair by Pr!tty makes me feel like a classy broad, I like the effect it has on the shape of my face. My eye makeup is by Wicked Peach at the new round of Cosmetics Fair which opens today! The theme is 90s, happily, and so I've paired it with #Adored's wonderfully understated Vague lips, all chilled out desaturated shades of grey. And I'm on a total septum piercing kick right now. Sorry, not sorry.

Credits:

Hair: Pr!tty - Genia - Bun - Reds (@ The Dressing Room Fusion)

Top and shorts: Stories & Co by Flowey - Charlotte Top/Shorts - Grey (@ Collabor88)

Boots: HOC Industries - Wedgie Boots

Claws: Kibitz - Acantha claws {L} - citrus (gacha @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival)

Nose piercing: MONS - Septum Ring (style22) black

Choker: XYZ - Tattoo Choker - Black 

Curtain: Balaclava! - Camden Room Divider - Chiffon White (gacha @ 6th Republic)

Makeup:

Eyes: The Wicked Peach - Grunge 4 (@ Cosmetics Fair)

Lips: #adored - vague lips - warm gray

Nails: Figure - Dreamy Nails

Tattoo: .Identity - Last Sip (Omega applier - gacha @ Fantasy Gacha Carnival)

Poses: 

Image 1: Ma Vie - Melody 03

Image 2: oOo Studio - Margarethe two

The Basics:

Skin: Pink Fuel - Harley - Porcelain

Eyes: Buzzeri - Lillian Eyes - Jade

Mesh Body: Maitreya - Lara 3.3

Ears: Ears: Mandala - Steking Ears - Season 5

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands - Flat (R) and Casual (L)

Feet: Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet - flat

Hairbase: LeLutka Hairbase - Jessica

Freckles: Pekka - Dark Freckles + Star Upper Cheek

Lashes: Alaskametro - PrimLashes - Vida

Brows: NOX - Nyx Brows [Tintable]

lotd120515

Well, I'm still on a redecorating my house kick (as you may note if you saw my previous post, the memorial to my dear old cubby. At this point I've got everything shiny and retextured. Now it's a case of refurnishing. This, for me, means lots and lots of yardsaling. LOTS of yardsaling. Which is where my big bonsai friend here came from. Sure, he's small for a tree, but really, very big for a bonsai. Like a giant dwarf.

One thing about going back to the Porcelain tone of skin is, my ears needed retinting, which became a more pressing need when I put on this gorgeous hair by Spellbound at the Dark Style Fair. Boy am I ever out of practice tinting with a HUD. Appliers have ruined me! 

My awesome leather boots are by Lassitude&Ennui at this round of We <3 Role-Play. I like the way they make me feel like an adventurer. Like when I have ham and cheese and a chunk of bread for dinner and call it "Adventurer's Dinner" because it feels like something you'd bundle up in a kerchief before setting off into the woods, where you meet a giant dwarf, rather than being a not very responsible adult. Only, these are boots, and you also can wear them if you're a responsible adult.

I wore this dress by B.C.C at Kawaii Project for a few days in a size too big because I was too lazy to alpha stuff out, and you could totally see all my boobs. Oops. But it's really pretty, and in-person, layered very delicately too, it's worth checking out. 

My matching collar and cuffs are by Noodles also at We <3 Role-Play, and are OpenCollar scripted to do all sorts of fancy things with poses and chains and various RLV features and comes in 6 colours, so even if you don't want to use those features, you can still look pretty!

My septum piecing here by The Horror you can't really see in the picture has a little moon cut out of it, it's so cute. You can get it at The Countdown Room, which is a very limited time event, ends this week, so go hurry there.

Oh you know what I forgot to do but didn't notice until I was typing this up? Change my makeup from my last post. I am REALLY on the ball today.Good job me. Luckily I look awesome. This bold clean liner from Nova is just so pretty, and I love the simplicity of Pink Fuel's lipstains. So it all worked out for the best, really.

Credits:

Hair: Spellbound - Cursed (@ Dark Style Fair)

Dress: B.C.C - Laila Dress - White Lace (@ Kawaii Project)

Boots: Lassitude & ennui - Hellebore boots - Brown (@ We <3 Role-Play)

Bracelet: Noodles - Vipera Basket Bracelet - Gold (@ We <3 Role-Play)

Collar: Noodles - Vipera Basket Collar Gold (@ We <3 Role-Play)

Nose piercing: The Horror!~ Moony Septum - Gold (@ The Countdown Room)

Earrings: The muses - Contessa - Gold Diamond
Tree: Madpea - Bonsai Hizashi RARE(gacha) 

Makeup: 

Eyes: Nova - Sagan Liner - oo1

Lips: Pink Fuel - Harley Lipstick - Stained Pink

Tattoo: Things - Iuturna - Faded (Omega applier)

Nails: La Boheme - Deco Fringe Silver

Poses: 

Image 1: Le Poppycock - Lense Flare

Image 2: Flowey - Dark Doom Honey

The Basics:

Skin: Pink Fuel - Harley - Porcelain

Eyes: Buzzeri - Lillian Eyes - Jade

Mesh Body: Maitreya - Lara 3.3

Ears: Ears: Mandala - Steking Ears - Season 5

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands - Flat (R) and Casual (L)

Feet: Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet - flat

Hairbase: LeLutka Hairbase - Jessica

Freckles: Pekka - Dark Freckles + Star Upper Cheek

Lashes: Alaskametro - PrimLashes - Classic

Brows: NOX - Nyx Brows [Tintable]

Goodbye Cubby

I didn't used to own my house and land, it belonged to some people who let Subversive live with them. When I first started dating him in SL I would hang out there all the time, and eventually I set down a sleeping bag on the roof, where it wouldn't be in the way, because it became this running joke that I always fell asleep there, and so when I'd log out, it would be with Subversive, cuddling in the sleeping bag.
Eventually I gave up the house I was renting and went to live there with them all, and upgraded my sleeping bag to this self-contained cubby by the long-gone Corduroy, which was the envy of everyone, with all its places to sit and put pictures and crap. And so we were always hanging out on the roof in it. As time passed, I got less self-contained, and started putting stuff all over the house, and when the time came when the owners decided they weren't online enough to justify the expense of the land, after a few years, they gave it to me, and I took over the costs of it, and all the random wanderers we'd taken in to live there. And so the house mine, and the garden was mine, and the Cafe was mine, and the land I added to it was mine. But I always kept my Cubby there, my preserved "teenager" bedroom.

In my triennial revamp of the house, still the original house, same prims, just improved, it became clear to me that my Cubby, made of prims and occasional sculpts, just couldn't compete with all the mesh and materials I was throwing about, and I took the hard decision to take it down. The thing alone is 29 prims. Add in all the 2007 decor items I crammed it with? Nearly 90.

So here I am. Saying a fond farewell to my beloved Cubby. I will always remember you and the amazing years spent in your shadow.

lotd080515

Since yesterday I've been working on my Second Life house. It's something I do every few years - line up the walls, update the textures, replace fixtures. My house started out life as a fullperm freebie from like, 2004, which, over the years, my friends and I have added to and remodeled and generally made completely unrecognisable. Also completely unlinked and with different walls owned by different people... My big project this time around has been to replace all the textures with with new ones with various Materials stuff. That.....was not as easy as it should be, given the makeshift nature of the house, everything being at different rotations and, shock horror, SL being buggy as hell. But with some help from the very patient Allegory Malaprop, I have eventually triumphed. All the walls, interior and exterior are done, and I'm taking a little break from that.

Pink Fuel just released a huge update, with new bodies for several of the older skins, and appliers up-to-date to go with, in all the tones. This is very exciting for me because it gives me an excuse to dig out an old friend of a skin, Harley, in Porcelain, which has always been the most "me" tone from Pink Fuel. Not quite as healthy as Crystal and not quite as unhealthy as Vamp. The timing of all this is excellent too, because the alpha cuts on the Slink Physique weren't doing it for me for this classic Tres Blah blouse, so I switched to the Maitreya Lara body for this post, just in time for the release of Pink Fuel's extended line of Maitreya appliers!

I'm dabbling with tattoo eyebrows again, these are by Nox, and I really like that the texture of them isn't too dense or too skinny, but I think I still need to play around with the shape of them a little bit to get them to where I love them. 

My hair is by Olive from the recent TAG gacha event, and I really love the way the curls of it fall and the length of it, it frames the face so prettily. The skirt I'm wearing here is a new release from Goth1c0, which happens to be one of the non-freebie stores I ever owned something from in SL. The Purple Velvet Weirdo skirt is one of the tame options of this skirt from the Dark Style Fair, the majority of them having awesome brain or eye patterns on them!

If you hurry you can still pick up my fishy friend for 50L at silentsparrow, where it's out for Fifty Linden Fridays. There's a version who swims all around you, a version you can snuggle, and a version you can set out and just look at how pretty he is. 

Lately Bubble has been updating their older stuff to include current appliers (Omega, Slink Physique) etc, which means I get to play with another old love, these corset-laced armwarmers. I have some like these in real life too. Lots of them.

Credits:

Hair: Olive - The Tumble (gacha)

Shirt: Tres Blah - Short Sleeve Blouse - Two Tone

Skirt: Goth1c0 - Weirdo Skirt - Purple Velvet (@ Dark Style Fair)

Socks: Izzie's - Unisex Socks (Maitreya applier)

Armwarmers: Bubble - Corset Laced Gloves (Maitreya applier)

Shoes: 20.five - Starry Chucks - Light

Undershirt (just visible): Sn@tch - Butch Tanks (Omega applier)

Fishy friend: silentsparrow - The Betta Fish Plush - Magic! (50L Fridays)

Windmill: D-Lab - Windmill Yellow

Makeup:

Eyes: Nova - Sagan 1

Lips: Pink Fuel - Harley Cosmetics - Lipstick - Stained Pink 

Eyebrows: Nox - Nyx Eyebrows - Tintable

Nails: Alaskametro - Diva - Gold

Poses: 

Image 1: Kirin - Dreamer Pose 1

Image 2: Le Poppycock - A single day (plus built-in fish-hugging pose)

The Basics:

Skin: Pink Fuel - Harley - Porcelain

Eyes: Buzzeri - Lillian Eyes - Jade

Mesh Body: Maitreya - Lara 3.3

Ears: Ears: Mandala - Steking Ears - Season 5

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands - Flat (R) and Casual (L)

Feet: Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet - flat

Hairbase: LeLutka Hairbase - Jessica

Freckles: Pekka - Dark Freckles + Star Upper Cheek

Lashes: Alaskametro - PrimLashes - Classic